Envious
by Hylianinja
Summary: Misaki is having a tough time adjusting to her new semester at Miyaji Academy, causing her old, anti-social self to resurface at work.


Envious

Misaki sighed as a customer approached the counter, handing her the item he wished to purchase. She set the book she'd only been half-interested in on the counter near the cash register beside her, saddened since she was only just now getting to the good part.

"Just the trial deck, right?" She asked the middle-schooler on the other side of the counter as she rang him up.

"Huh?" The dark-haired boy replied. "Oh, do you think I should get something to go with it? I'm just starting this game, so I just thought that would be the best thing to get. My friends all say it's the best one!"

"Hmm..." Misaki briefly looked over the contents in her hand. If he was just starting out, the trial deck would be more than enough.

"This should be a good deck for you to start with." She told him, trying to sound more awake than she felt. "The only thing I might also get if I were you, would be a deck box and some sleeves to protect it. Other than that though, I think you're golden."

"Ah, I completely forgot about that!" The boy became wide-eyed, as if Misaki's words had given him some sort of enlightenment beyond discussing simple card games.

"Here," Misaki offered with an invisible smile. "I'll throw in a free deck box to get you started. Just don't tell anyone I did this for you, okay?"

She grabbed one the common deck boxes from under the glass counter beside her and gently placed it in a bag beside the boy's new deck.

_He's lucky that Shin had to take sub-manager to an appointment today, otherwise he might've been talked into buying a lot more than just the trial deck_, she thought to herself.

"Ah! Thank you so much!" The boy bowed gratefully and dashed out of the store after making his purchase.

Misaki's expression turned a bit sad as she followed the boy's movements outside. Moments later, she could see him mingling among his friends, all of them seeming to be celebrating his new acquisition. She couldn't help feeling just a little bit envious of the group as she went back to her reading.

The next half hour was painfully slow. With the weather being rather sporadic lately and rain clouds moving in, many of their usual customers had either gone home early or neglected to show up at all.

Sure enough, just as the weatherman on TV had predicted earlier that morning, it began raining outside.

Misaki watched the drops of rain, taking her mind off of her sub-par novel for a moment. It started slowly, but eventually the soft sprinkling turned into a heavy downpour.

_Great_, she thought to herself. As if her mood hadn't been dismal enough already. She wasn't looking forward to a slow shift.

She was about to go back to reading, when a dash of black caught her eye. A young man entered the shop in a familiar high school uniform, covered by an expensive looking black coat.

The young man pulled back the hood that hid his face and he was revealed to be none other than Kai Toshiki.

She was surprised that he of all people would brave the weather just to be _here_, but then again, she already knew the reason why. And that didn't surprise her at all. In fact, it ticked her off.

He briefly made eye contact with her and waved ever so slightly in her direction as he made his way into the shop, but she pretended like she hadn't seen him. In a way, they were acting opposites here. She had noticed that Kai had been showing up more frequently than ever at card capital lately. And there were plenty of other card shops he knew of and frequented. But it was only _here_ that he had the possibility of running into _Aichi_. So, naturally, she figured, he kept showing up there in the hopes of seeing Aichi, while _she_ stuck around the shop in an attempt to avoid him. _And_ his new club...

She sighed heavily this time, once again setting her book down on the counter, not bothering to set her bookmark, and rubbed at the bridge of her nose and eyes. She felt a headache coming on.

She started wondering when working at her family's shop had started feeling like such a chore again. She used to have so much fun with it; with everyone, but now...

"Tokura..."

"Hm?" Misaki was caught off guard by the young man's voice. She stopped touching her face and met Kai's eyes with her own, immediately bothered by the fact that he may have been standing there for a while and she had just failed to notice until now.

"You look tired," he commented simply.

"You're very perceptive..." Misaki replied sarcastically, attempting to pick up her book and continue wherever she had left off.

Kai blinked in surprise and shut his mouth. She had cut him off before he could ask if she was all right. It wasn't like Misaki at all to be so dismissive. Perhaps, _the old Misaki_, he admitted, but not the Misaki that had recently won the Asia Circuit alongside Aichi.

Misaki sighed again, realizing Kai hadn't moved from his spot on the other side of the counter. She doubted he would have ever acted this brave normally, but with the shop being as empty as it was, he didn't have to worry about trying to be the _'cool kid.'_

"Can I help you with something?" She made no attempt to hide the agitation in her voice.

"Is it always this cold in here?" Kai asked, picking up on her harsh tone and having none of it.

Misaki let out a short _'hmph'._ She was in no mood to deal with anybody right now, let alone Aichi's little guard dog. She went back to ignoring him and had just rediscovered the place where she had stopped reading moments earlier when a hand slowly obstructed her view. It jumbled the sentences in front of her as it forced the pages back down against the counter.

"I'm not sure what's going on," the brunette paused, "but if you're not feeling well, we can talk about it. I can ask Miwa to take over for a while."

"I'm fine." Misaki argued, once again lifting up her book. It was met with no resistance this time. "Besides, no one's here."

Kai moved his hand back to the opposite side of the counter, shoving it into the right side pocket of his pants as he retreated saying, "Suit yourself."

The store continued to be quiet, aside from the pouring rain, until Miwa showed up.

Misaki briefly wondered why the two hadn't left school together, but quickly dismissed the thought.

She tried her best to keep herself focused on her story, but the conversations between the blonde and brunette combined with the rain falling outside the shop made it impossible.

"Where are you, Shin?" She heard herself say, as she set her book down for the final time that day. She remembered her bookmark this time.

"Oh yeah, where is that guy?" Miwa questioned.

Misaki noticed Kai glare at Miwa for a moment as if to say, "Don't talk to her!" But whatever message he had been trying to convey was lost to the blonde.

"Dunno..." Misaki replied. It was too late for her to take back her statement. "I thought he would have been back by now." She added, with a slight tone of worry as she turned her attention toward the rain.

"Hmm..." Miwa and Kai also looked on outside. And for a moment the entire store was silent.

Of course, Miwa's voice eventually broke the mood. Misaki was just grateful that Izaki and Morikawa hadn't shown up. As quiet as the shop was, if it got any louder, she was sure she would snap.

"So, Sis? What's bothering you?" Miwa paused for a moment, pointing at Kai before continuing. "_This guy_ thinks you're kind of out of it."

Once again, Kai gave Miwa a stare from across the table they were sitting at, but it proved ineffective.

Misaki sighed. She was in no mood for an interrogation. And she had no desire for any kind of show-and-tell today.

"I'm just having an off-day...don't worry about it."

"Hmmm?" Came Miwa's reply. "Are you sure?"

Misaki looked down at the counter for a moment, staring at where she had chosen to stow away her new vanguard deck. The one she had made for herself and no one else.

"Even if I told you, it wouldn't change anything." she admitted softly.

"_Oh_, so there _is_ something!" Miwa exclaimed.

"That's enough, Miwa." Kai interjected. "If she doesn't want to talk about it, she doesn't have to."

For a moment, Misaki almost believed she was being given the good-cop, bad-cop treatment. Either way, she wasn't about to pour her heart out to these two.

"You're no fun, Kai." Miwa chided. "Isn't this why you called me over here? In the pouring rain, no less!"

Misaki looked up in surprise. _Had Kai really been that worried about her?_

"Actually," Kai closed his eyes for a moment and folded his arms. "It's Aichi..."

_When isn't it?_ Miwa and Misaki both thought in unison, unbeknownst to one another.

"Aichi seems to be doing fine," Misaki's mood shifted to being sarcastic once again with the mention of Aichi. She was relieved that the light was no longer on her, but talking about the boy made her feel sick to her stomach and she found herself wishing they would change the subject. "He seems better than ever, actually." She added for effect.

"That's just it." Kai took on a serious tone, causing the mood in the room to lower unpleasantly. "He told me you've been acting strangely around him at school. Any idea why that might be? Or should I be the one to tell you what I think?"

Misaki suddenly felt like a cornered animal with the way Kai stared at her. The look in his eyes was anything but pleasant. She much preferred the way he had been looking at her from right over the counter about an hour ago to the way he was looking at her now. Was he trying to defend Aichi somehow? How stupid of him for not knowing the whole story.

"Why are you making this about _him?_" Misaki argued. "Oh, wait, I forgot. It's _always_ about Aichi with you. But no, it isn't just you anymore. These days, _everyone's_ talking about Aichi."

Kai wasted no time beating around the bush.

"I think you're jealous." He said sternly.

Misaki's lips parted for a moment, but no words came out. She felt as if she'd just been thrown into an ice-cold lake. A slight chill ran up her spine at the sudden realization. Her mind went back to the kid she had just sold that trial deck to moments ago and how happy him and his friends had looked together. _Was she jealous of him? Of Aichi and his great new circle of friends? Was that really it?_

_"Kai..."_ Miwa whispered. _"Don't you think that was a little harsh?"_

"No," Misaki replied before Kai could speak. "He's right."

The silver-haired shop maiden rose from her seat and walked over to the young men, her arms crossed as a way of defending herself as she opened up to them.

"It's just been different between us," She told them. "Ever since we both began going to that academy."

Kai and Miwa simply listened, not wanting to interrupt her, at least not right away, for fear that she might change her mind and retreat back behind the counter.

She stopped for a moment, realizing that this little admission of hers might take a while, and with no customers around, she decided to pull up a seat at their table.

"When I heard from a classmate that Aichi had formed a cardfight club with Kourin, I was surprised. I felt hurt, but I couldn't figure out why. And then we started running into each other and Aichi just seemed so...far away. And it didn't help that one of his friends didn't want him hanging around with me. And to make matters worse, when his friend called me by my new nickname and told him all about how I'm the _'Boss Lady'_ of Miyaji, he took his side! He didn't tell them any different, or even try to defend me at all!"

"I see..." Kai seemed to be taking mental notes as he and Miwa followed the story.

"Did he ask you to join the club?" Miwa asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, he did." Misaki continued. "But I told him I needed to run the shop and wouldn't have any extra time."

"But that was just an excuse?" Kai asked. "To stay away from him?"

"Mm," Misaki nodded. "It didn't feel right." She said, looking down, thinking back on that day. "I went home and thought about it, but I couldn't shake this feeling. Like he had forgotten I was there; that I even existed. He didn't come to _me_ first when _we_ had been the ones who had competed all throughout the circuit together and even before that. It made me angry that he would choose Kourin over me. That he would choose to follow everyone else and not talk to me; not want to be around me. And I thought about why that might be...

Kai and Miwa continued listening.

"Is it because of my new reputation at school? Is it because he thought no one else would join the club if I did? Because everyone wants to stay away from me?"

Misaki clenched her fist in anger.

"Is it because I cut my hair? Is it because I don't look like an idol? That isn't who I am! But is that who I need to be? Not just to fit in, but just to keep the only friends I thought I had?"

"Sis..." Miwa frowned, truly feeling empathetic toward the girl.

"Tokura..." Kai cut in. "It's true, Aichi has changed, but I don't think he's the type of person who would go out of his way to purposely hurt anyone."

Misaki sighed deeply, getting back most of her composure as she looked away. She felt ashamed for some of the things she'd thought about her friends lately. But it was how she felt.

"I know that," she replied. "I know he probably didn't mean to. But it still hurts; seeing him so happy with everyone and seeing where I've ended up."

"Aichi can be a little slow to catch on to things," Kai admitted. "He probably isn't aware that you're being labeled and bullied at school."

Misaki couldn't deny the fact that Aichi could sometimes be a bit unaware of things happening around him and he probably wasn't one to gossip. Maybe he really had no idea?

"I'm sure of all people, if you talked to Aichi about how the other students at Miyaji are treating you, he'd understand."

"Oh yeah, he was bullied there too, right?" Miwa wondered. "Man, what is _with_ that school?"

"At first, it didn't bother me." Misaki admitted. "I'm used to giving off a cold vibe. I prefer being left alone. But I never thought I would be pushing away _everyone_ by doing it."

"Maybe you just need to show them that you aren't serious all the time?" Miwa asked, trying to lighten the mood. "Have you looked into any other clubs you could join?"

"Like I said...I have the shop to run..." Misaki replied half-heartedly. "I wouldn't have time."

"Or you just don't want to?" Kai spoke up, sensing a bit of weakness.

Misaki sighed and stood up slowly, fixing the chair to the way it was before she sat down.

"I think I'm just about done explaining myself for today," She replied, removing her aqua-blue apron and tossing it onto the table in front of Miwa. "If you don't mind, could you take over for me until Shin gets back?"

"Huh? Oh, sure!" Miwa stood as well, grabbing hold of the apron and fixing it onto himself. "Sorry Kai was so nosey."

"Hmph..." Kai remained sitting, evidently having no intention of leaving the shop just yet.

"No, it's fine." Misaki replied with a weak smile. "He has his reasons."

She walked quietly over to the counter to grab her deck box and book before handing things over to Miwa and heading toward the door leading up to her room above the shop. Before leaving the room, she turned to Kai.

"You're right. He's not the type to purposely hurt someone."

Kai, who had been resting his chin against his palm, with his elbow against the table, looked on at Misaki, wondering where she was going with her line of thought.

"If you see him later, could you tell him that I'm okay and not to worry?" She requested.

"You can tell him that yourself the next time you see him." Kai replied. "I'm not your messenger."

Misaki smiled weakly. She wondered if she'd be able to muster up the courage to talk to Aichi, face-to-face anytime soon; or anyone at her school for that matter. Either way, she knew she couldn't hide behind her work or anything else forever. She would have to face her fears and talk to him eventually.

"Alright, I'll talk to you both later. Thanks for your help, Miwa."

"That's more like it, Sis!" Miwa beamed, picking up on Misaki's softened attitude.

"I'm not your sis!" She retorted quickly before turning around, opening the door and running up the stairs to her room.

The boys could hear her footsteps followed by a closed door up above as she settled down.

"_Sheesh_, I don't know how you do it." Miwa said as he approached Kai with arms folded in front of his chest. "Your methods are way too harsh!"

"I just hope she feels better soon," Kai answered, ignoring Miwa's blatant criticism.

_"For Aichi's sake?"_ Miwa had to ask.

The brunette fell silent as rain continued to fall.


End file.
